- Jeffery H. Wood has been appointed to serve in the Department of Justice to oversee environmental crimes. Wood’s last jobs was a lobbyist for the coal industry. [Link]
- Trump signs an executive action to block refugees and citizens from seven Muslim countries from entering the US. The action suspended the entry of refugees for 120 days and suspended the acceptance of Syrian refugees indefinitely. Citizens from Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, and Somalia will be unable to enter the US for the next 90 days. [Link]
- In an interview, Trump says that citizens from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia will face extreme vetting before being allowed into the US. [Link]
- Trump released a presidential national security memorandum aimed at rebuilding the US military. The memorandum calls for a 30-day review of military readiness, a plan for how to bolster the military, and a review of nuclear weapons. [Link]
- Just hours before Obama left office, US Fish and Wildlife Service issued an ammunition ban for lead-based ammo on federal lands. [Link]
- A Turkish airstrike kills 10 civilians in Norther Syria. Turkey is fighting to take al-Bab from ISIS. [Link]
- Fighting between Syrian rebel groups continues in the Idlib Providence in Syria. The fighting is resulting in heavy civilian casualties. The jihadists type groups are targeting groups who were invited to the Syrian peace talks. [Link]
- The UK Defense Ministry has uncovered 252 alleged violations of the international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. [Link]